Jane the Virgin recap: Chapter 28

Jane the Virgin

type

TV Show

genre

Telenovela, Drama, Comedy

run date

10/13/14

performer

Gina Rodriguez

broadcaster

The CW

seasons

4

Current Status

In Season

Ah, milestones. Most of the time, we tend to think about milestones as joyful, happy occasions — like in Jane’s case, her first day of middle school and the moment Mateo first smiled. But as we learned in “Chapter 28” milestones aren’t always sunny-colored and rainbow bright — they can be painful, too.

The episode kicked off with Jane picking out an outfit for grad school orientation. “Does it say cool, but still legitimately literary?” she asks Xo. Clad in her first day of school outfit, Jane meets with Rafael for a meeting with an estate planner. There, Jane learns that her little baby will grow up to become a major millionaire, with a $40 million dollar trust to his name. That’s a lot of Target shopping sprees, but Jane’s major concern is raising Mateo as normal and as grounded as possible. How can she do that when he’ll have millions at his fingertips?

It’s a question she’ll keep coming back to throughout the episode, but before she can come up with a solution, it’s time to head out to see Rogelio in action during his last day on the Passion of Santos set. Slow tear! But the only one who’s close to tears is Jane, when Mateo spits up all over his mommy. At the risk of being late to class, she heads to wardrobe for a new dress.

As luck would have it, Jane’s last minute outfit change has made her late to orientation. She thought it’d be a wine and cheese mixer, but it seems more like a group therapy event, with one student yakking about her past, heroin abuse, and other angsty matters. Seated at the head of the table is a particularly studly specimen of a man. (That beard!) Meet Jonathan Chavez, Jane’s new English professor. He’s not too thrilled that Jane’s late, and he’s even less pleased when Jane mentions her book. “I’m not here to help you finish a novel,” he growls. “I’m here to help you grow as a writer.” Oh, and he hates social media and phones — a fun fact that hits home when Jane finds herself locked out of class for taking a call from Mateo’s pediatrician. This is not exactly the start that Jane was envisioning for herself.

Jump to one month later, and Jane’s “doubled down” on school. She’s put in the work, and now she’s expecting an A — or at the very least, a B+ — on her first paper. Her shock when she sees a big, fat C– scribbled on her assignment is palpable. Her first bad grade marks a milestone — and not a good one. “You have potential, but it feels like a first draft, rushed,” Professor Chavez tells her. There’s a writer’s retreat, which she might find helpful; no matter that she’s a new mom and has never left Mateo. “Nothing’s mandatory,” he reiterates. “You chose to be here.”